


Star Crossed

by Tyassei



Category: Star vs. The Forces Of Evil
Genre: Attempted Sexual Assault, I Don't Even Know, M/M, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Romance, cross-dressing
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-06-29
Updated: 2016-07-15
Packaged: 2018-07-18 23:40:11
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 9,094
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7335703
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tyassei/pseuds/Tyassei
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Several weeks after the incident at St. Olga's, Tom recieves a letter from Miss Heinous herself, asking for assistance in locating the escaped rebel leader. Disgusted by her proposal, Tom comes up with his own plan to meet this illusive princess.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Here we fucken go

**Author's Note:**

> I don't even know why I ship these two, goddamn it. 
> 
> I am blaming everyone except myself.
> 
> Enjoy.

To say that Tom was frustrated with himself was an understatement.

Not only had he failed to woo his ex-girl friend back into a relationship with him, he had also let her slip into the grasp of another man. But it wasn't just any man, no. This _boy_ was not only a pitiful mortal, a human no less, but he had managed to bind himself to _Tom's_ Starship for the rest of eternity. And to put the cherry on the dismal sundae that was his current situation, the boy lived with her, and interacted with her on a daily basis!

Tom stopped himself there, knowing that if he kept going on like he was he was going to tear apart his quarters, again. With that thought in mind, he pushed himself away from his paper work, stretched, and moved to the open the large cage that held his precious rabbit.

The small creature squeaked in fright as it was woken from its slumber, before promptly relaxing into its master's warm hands, being calmed by the large hands stroking over its back.

Now that he could think clearly, Tom rolled back over to his desk.

“I need something to do, something small. Something that would get his mind off of Star Butterfly and her human.”, he thought. He began sorting through his work, leafing through trade deals, betrothal offers for both himself and his siblings, and other irritating proposals from lesser realms.

As he neared the end of the 4th pile, he began to lose hope. That was until a certain title caught his interest.

The rather horridly perfumed letter had the return address “St. Olga's School for Wayward Princesses.”

His interest piqued, his left hand abandoned his small companion to its nap to open the envelope.

* * *

 

King Aamon and Queen Durga of the Underworld,

The three of us have been good acquittances for many years now. It is because of this that I feel I can trust you and your family with a small issue of mine.

Recently, an uprising sprung to life in my school, one that I was able to quell to a certain degree. However, the girls, while no longer rioting in the corridors, refuse to pursue their reformation. Even my solitary conform-ment chamber doesn't effect them for long, and you know from your own daughter's behavior how effective my treatment is.

They are all under the illusion that they can get through my program without submitting because I had a pair of girls escape my academy. Luckily, I am only distressed by one of these girls as the other was too hell bent on freeing her friend to encourage the other girls.

This is the task I need taken on. This girl is a menace to society and will be difficult to catch, but that is your family's specialty, so I have no doubt that you will be able to catch her. I have enclosed a small photograph of the nuance in question to ease your way. Additionally, you should be aware that her home planet is earth.

I eagerly await your return letter in hopes that we are able to discuss a suitable repayment of this favor.

Yours truly,

Headmistress Gertrude Heinous

* * *

 

The demon prince repressed a snarl that threatened to escape him as he read. This woman seemed to be under the illusion that his family, the literal rulers of the afterlife, were no more than simple mercenaries. In addition to this, he was very aware that both of his parents had a deep seated hatred for Miss Heinous for her rude behavior in the past.

He scoffed at her insolence and balled up the letter before throwing it into the fireplace.

“It serves her right for turning Trinity into that beast.” he muttered to himself, thinking of his beloved sister who's creativity and spirit had been crushed under that prison's boot.

He hoped that whoever that girl was that she got away without a scratch and that she was off doing whatever rebellion causing princesses did for fun. He moved to stand, being mindful of the rabbit in his lap, when the picture of the girl caught his eye. He couldn't help but laugh at the image before him.

Of course an Earth princess would look so common. But still he had to give the girl credit, she did throw Heinous for a loop, after all. The longer he looked at her, the more a plan to blossom. He could still go and find her, but that didn't mean he had to turn her in. He could maybe use her to get his mind off of Starship.

The more the plan began to form the larger a smirk began to grow on his face. It was perfect. The demon nodded to himself and turned to place his rabbit back in its hutch before running over to his wardrobe to rummage for an outfit that could easily lure a human girl into his arms for a few weeks. He did need a date for Uncle Abduxuel's New Moon Ball after all, and it wasn't like he could take Star.

As he continued to root for the cloths he had in mind, something kept nagging him. It was nothing major really, he just could swear that he had seen her before.

* * *

 

“C'mon Marco, please! Just one more time that's it.”, Star pleaded, “All I need is one afternoon of Princess Marco.”

“Why do you even have to have her again? And if I recall correctly, I did not enjoy my last outing as her at all.”

“Now that is a straight lie, best bestie, and you know it. Mr. Safety took a back seat for once and, WHAM, you're a rebel leader! And you insist that human's aren’t magic. You loved it!”, she said before flopping face first into her mattress. “And besides, my date with Oskar is a DOUBLE date, and it can't be a double date without two couples.”

The brunet simply groaned in response before flopping down next to her. They laid there in silence for several seconds before he felt Star squirming around on her overstuffed bed so that she could flop over him.

“Marco, this could be my one chance to actually be with the boy of my dreams. If I lose this opportunity, I could be a lonely bachelorette forever. Would you really let me suffer like that, Marco?”, she whined.

Silence was her only response. With a huff, she wiggled closer to him, looked at his face as best as she could, and gave the biggest puppy dog eyes possible.

“Please, Marco.”

Marco groaned again, before sighing in defeat.

“Fine, but only if-”, he was cut off by the squeal of excitement from his best friend. She caught him in the hug equivalent of a python's grip and held on tight.

“Thank you, Thank you, Thank you! I love you so much, Marco! You are the best!”.

She gasped in realization, her arms dropping him abruptly as her hands flew to her cheeks.

“We have got to get you a new dress! I'm thinking pink like the last ti-”.

“No, that's my one condition. I'm picking my own dress this time, Star. At least give me that.”. She looked mildly disappointed at that, but perked up again almost immediately.

“This is gonna be the best date ever! I get to spend time with my two favorite boys in the universe!”, she screamed as she began to bounce excitedly allover her room, running around looking for the other shoe for this pair, and the necklace that would look perfect with that dress. Marco just chuckled at her antics and settled back onto Star's bed to enjoy what little relaxation he could get before he insisted he try on everything she could magic up, just for the sake of fun.

And besides, he might as well enjoy his last week with her before everything got turned on it's head.


	2. A Rather Disastrous Date

The bathroom door barged open as Marco charged into the girls' bathroom desperate for an escape from the disaster that was Star's date. Oh sure, it was going fine for her, but the guy Oskar had brought along with him was a total creep. The guy, David, he thought his name was, kept looking at him like he was a particularly appetizing piece of meat. Just the thought of it had Marco quivering on his porcelain throne.

Just as he expected, a few minutes later he heard the bathroom door open again.

“Marco?”, came the questioning call. The next thing he knew, a crawling, grunting Princess Star Butterfly scrambled through the hole at the bottom of the stall, before sitting down and looking at him expectantly. If he were honest with himself, he almost screamed.

“You okay? I know that guy is a little weird, but he isn't that bad.”, she said before giving him an encouraging smile. Marco chose to ignore the fact that Star was sitting on what is normally considered one of the most unsanitary surfaces on Earth. He hesitantly smiled back before glancing away.

“You want to go home? If you do, that's okay. I'm just glad you did this for me. It means a lot you know.”, she spoke in a solemn. Marco nodded. “Then let's get you back home. The date is almost over anyway.”

She rose, dusting off her butt as she did so before unlatching the stall door. Before they left though, they both washed their hands, as per Marco's demands.

Back out in the main room of the Chinese restaurant, the two 'girls' rejoined their dates.

“Hey guys, Maria isn't feeling well so she's gonna head on back to home, alright.”, she said before leaning over to Marco, muttering in his ear that she would be right behind him once she had talked over the possibility of another date with Oskar.

“Oh man, that sucks. I hope you feel better soon.”, Oskar said before placing a reassuring hand on her shoulder. Oskar then turned back to Star.

"You're staying here with us, right?". To this, Star nodded eagerly.

"Actually, I'm not staying either. I've got to walk my date home, and be a gentleman.", David muttered, giving Marco a salacious look.

"Oh, well alright then.", Oskar said in response.

“No, I really don't think that's a good idea.”, Marco muttered, pulling his hands up in a defensive position. “Honestly, I'd rather just go by myself.”

“I insist. I don't think I could live with myself I let my defenseless date get kidnapped.”, he emphasized his words by winding an arm around Marco's waist. Mildly disgusted, Marco carefully removed the offending appendage, throwing Star a desperate look as he did so.

Star reached for his arm, pulling him in for a hug before muttering in his ear, “I'll be right behind you.”. She pulled away from him to an arms lengths then gave him a reassuring smile. Marco sighed in resignation, then moved towards the restaurant’s main door.

“Let's go, David. It's getting late.”

With that, he two exited the establishment, leaving the remaining two to themselves. As the two walked along, Marco had to admit that so far the walk was going a lot better than he had expected it to. While David refused to give up attempting small talk with him, he hadn't tried to murder him yet, so that was a plus. This, however, didn't make Marco drop his guard.

It wasn't until they were out of sight from the restaurant that David got weirder. He kept trying to hold his hand, or pull him close. The boy even went so far as to offer him his jacket, despite it being in the middle of April. Marco's anxiety toward David grew as he began to notice that his eyebrows creased a little bit further every time Marco declined his offers.

David finally seemed to reach his boiling point when Marco turned down his suggestion for heading out for ice cream. He roughly grabbed Marco by the arm, threw him into a nearby alleyway, then pushed him back against a nearby wall violently. His breath coming out hard, David grabbed Marco's arms and pinned them on either side of his head.

“What are you doing?!”

“Why don't you like me? I've been the perfect gentleman. I payed for dinner. I walked you home. I offered to take you out for ice cream. But you won't show any gratitude, at all!”

“I thanked you for dinner. As for everything else, I think you would have gotten the message by now that I am not interested in going out with you! The only reason I even went to this stupid date was do that Star wouldn't have to show up to a double date by herself.”. David looked like he had been slapped. Then his face flushed an ugly shade of red.

“So you're a stupid bitch like her, huh? Too caught up in her own reality to see the truth. I'm perfect for you. You will be my girlfriend!”, he screamed before forcing his lips onto hers. Marco felt himself gag at the scaly texture of his lips and the slimy feel of his probing tongue.

Having enough of his 'date's' rage and affections, Marco used David's vice grip around his forearms against him, and pushed his feet against his attacker's chest, knocking him back and away from him. Taking the opportunity to escape, Marco rushed for the end of the alley, only to feel his foot grabbed, forcing him down to the ground.

* * *

 

Alright, Tom was on his way to the house Star was residing in, but not because he wanted to see Star. No, he was above stalking the object of his affections. The only reason he wanted to see her was because an associate of him had found out that the strange girl he was looking for had been seen with a girl that was unmistakable for Princess Star Butterfly. Well, that and he wanted to see if he could threaten her housemate with bodily harm if he made a move on his Starship.

“I just need to find out where she lives so I can talk to her, that's it.”, he told himself, pouting internally and stuffing his hands in his shorts pockets as he continued down the road. Then, he heard the distant sound of yelling. Confused and mildly irritated, he picked up his pace and stormed off in the direction of the noise. He never understood why some people insisted on airing their dirty laundry in public.

Several meters in front of him, he saw someone pop out of an alleyway briefly before they fell to the ground and were dragged back out of sight.

Now normally, he wouldn't have interfered with something like this, as doing so was getting himself dragged into unnecessary fights his mother wouldn't approve of, and it was against his nature to care about the difficulties of others. But he had to improve himself, it was part of his therapy, so he picked up his gait to a jog and ran toward the couple in distress.

He came to a sliding halt as he came upon the opening of the side street. Was he wasn't prepared to see however was the very girl he was looking for beating the boy below her to a pulp.

“If you dare touch me like that again, I'll call the cops.”, the girl said in a grated voice before she stood giving the boy under him one last glare before she turned to leave. She stopped as her eyes met his. The poor girl looked like she was going to panic.

Just as Tom was about to say something along the lines of an apology for not getting there faster or asking her if she was okay, he heard the voice of the other girl he was looking for.

“Maria!”

Star came streaking around the corner behind them, followed by a tall and lanky boy who's hair covered his eyes. She too stopped and stood in her place.

“Tom?”

The boy, unfazed my Tom's presence, moved over to check on Maria. That was her name right? The boy eased toward her, looking behind her and at the prone form of the other boy.

“Maria, what happened? Are you alright? I thought everything was going fine.”, the boy asked in a confused voice. Maria's face curled up in anger, her hands balling into fists at her sides.

“Your friend attacked me, that's what happened! And no, everything was not going fine. This just proves it.”

“Oh man, Maria. I am so sorry. He told me he was better, that he was safe.”

“What do you mean 'safe', Oskar?”, the boy looked down guiltily, scratching the back of his head.

“He was in juvie for molesting an ex-girlfriend. God, I don't even know what to say, this is all my fault. He's my cousin, I didn't think he would lie to me.”

As the boy spoke, Maria looked over at Tom in fear before responding to Oskar.

“It's not all your fault, he is responsible for his own actions. I just wish you would have told someone about his past before you let me walk out of a restaurant with him.”, the girl uncurled her fists, and breathed before continuing. “Please just tell me that you'll tell someone about this.”

“Of course, stuff like this isn't acceptable.”

“In that case, I think you should go home. And take David with you. No matter how much I hate him right now, it would be bad if he got mugged.”. Oskar nodded solemnly and pulled his cousin off of the ground. Before he left, he looked to Star.

“Are we still on for next Thursday?”

“This isn't your fault. So, unless something happens, yes.”. Oskar nodded again, then began dragging his cousin home.

Several moments of silence passed.

“What does he mean by on for next Thursday, Star?”

“Not now, Tom.”, she brushed him off as she walked over to her friend and pulled her into a tight hug that lasted for a good while. The two girls seemed to just cut off the world around them. Without turning around, Star spoke.

“What are you doing here, Tom?”

“Honestly, I was looking for you. Was recently contacted by someone to look into a friend of yours and I wanted to see if you would tell me exactly where she lived. But, that's no longer needed as she's right here.”

He watched as both of their eyes flew open in alarm. Star turned toward him, taking her wand out of her purse.

“What do you want with her?”

“I just want to talk, maybe even see if she'd like to accompany me on an outing or two.”, he rose his eyebrows for emphasis toward the girl in question.

Star's eyes widened in shock, her wand lowering slightly. She quickly regained her composure however, and rose her wand again.

“I don't believe that for a diddly darn second. And after what you just saw, do you really expect her to be ready for another date?”, Star fumed. Tom didn't think he had ever seen her so angry. Before he could say anything in response, Maria stopped her.

“Star, I'm fine really, just a little shaken up.”, with that she brushed a lock of hair behind her ear.

For the first time, Tom stopped to actually look at Maria in the flesh, the sound of the two girls squabbling being tuned out.

She wore a royal blue, lace dress that ran down to her knees, that admittedly looked rather wrecked, but that was forgivable given the circumstances. The sleeves on her dress fell to her elbows, and she wore black flats on her feet. She looked good, he had to admit. Her looks provided a sharp contrast to Star's normally bright and bubbly clothing.

He slipped back into reality when he heard his name brought up.

“Well, maybe I would like to go on a date him? Huh, what then, Star?”, she girl spoke in an indignant tone her hands crossed over her chest. Tom the opportunity to pull out the card he had prepared for this occasion.

“Great. I'll meet you next Saturday. Whenever you want to be picked up, just burn the card.”.

With that, he pulled out his dimensional scissors, and left before she could refuse his offer.

Everything was going according to plan.

* * *

 

“I can't believe I just did that.”, Marco muttered to himself as he stared at the empty air where Tom had stood a moment before. Star just looked at him for a moment, before a large grin broke out over her face. Pulling him into a hug, she began to scream into his ear.

“Holy heck, Marco! Do you know what this means? It means he's finally getting over me! I'm a free woman, Marco! I'm free!”

“Well, I'm glad your happy. As for me, I now have to pretend to be a girl, again, and go on a date with a demon.”. Marco slumped in defeat. “Maybe I'll just shove it under the bed, and forget it exists.”

“No! If you do that, he'll go right back to obsessing over me again! Marco, please. Just one date with him. Maybe it will make him realize he can like other girls.”, she looked at him with pure excitement in her eyes.

“Star, this date was supposed to be 'Just one more afternoon of Princess Marco'. Star, this is going a little bit too far don't you think?”

“Marco, please! I'll do anything you want! Scrub the bathroom floor with a toothbrush, do your homework! I'll even hug Ludo next time he shows up! Just please, Marco, please!”. Marco swore the girl was about to break down crying.

“Fine! Fine. One date with your crazy ex! But don't you dare touch my homework.”. Marco just slumped in defeat as Star's excited murmurings grew in volume. “Now, let's go home. My parents are probably getting worried about us by now, it's getting dark, and I want out of this dress.”

“Okie Dokie, best bestie!”. With that, Star began to skip down the road toward home, Marco following behind her with a much less joyous step.


	3. The First Date

Marco Diaz stood in front of his mirror dressed in a long sleeved, blue shirt and black slacks. He was preparing for his date with his best friend's ex. Standing in front of his mirror, he adjusted his ponytail once again, determined to get it straight. Eventually giving up, Marco tugged his hoddie over his head, left his room, and trudged over to Star's room for her help. He knocked on her door.

“Hey Marco! You ready for...”, she paused when she saw him, a disappointed look flashing over her face, “You aren't wearing the dress I gave you.”

“I'm not dressing to impress, Star. Besides, I doubt that we're going anywhere what would require dressing up. And can you help me with this ponytail? I can't get it to sit right.”

“Marco, you are talking to the girl he dated before.”, she said before moving to stand behind him. “He loves to show off. You saw what he did at the Blood Moon Ball; he changed almost every aspect of it so that I would like it. If he's still anything like the Tom I know, he's probably going to take you out somewhere nice.”

Once she finished speaking, she jerked Marco's hoodie over his head and threw it to the side.

“Besides, it wouldn't kill you to wear another dress. You do look good in them.”. Marco huffed at her statement, his eyebrows scrunching up in irritation.

“Star, I am not wearing another dress. I am a man, dang it.”

“Yeah, but Tom doesn't know that. Oh, speaking of which, do you still have that bra from last time on?”. Marco nodded, his fave flushing a deep red in shame. “Good, now I'll go get the dress.”

“This is demeaning, Star. Just let me go like this so I can shake him easily. It's not like I plan on being around him for long anyway.”

Star visibly deflated at his words and reached for his hoodie, before handing it back to it's owner.

“Fine. But don't blame me if he says something about it.”

She removed his ponytail, before placing it back in just the right spot, and then picked up her brush.

“Put the hoodie back on if you're going to wear it.”

Marco looked at it for a moment, but eventually decided that it would make him more recognizable, he dropped it back on the floor. Star pulled him over to her bed, sitting him down before she settled down behind him to brush the tuft of fake hair.

“When do you think I should burn that card thing?”

“What time is it?”

“It's 4:30. Oh yeah, I was also thinking I could go stand in the park when I summon him. It would be bad if he found out that we live in the same house and put two and two together.”

“That's smart. Once I get this tangle brushed out, you should probably head out.”

With that, she smoothed down the last part that stuck up, and patted him on the back, letting out a false laugh.

“Good luck, Marco, and try not to get on his bad side. You've seen how he gets when he gets upset.”

With a nod, Marco flipped his ponytail over his shoulder, and headed back to his room to get the card. Swiping it off of his chest of drawers, he noticed the pair of clip on earrings Star had given him to wear on their date with Oskar and David. At the time he had refused to wear them, but now that he was mostly in his male form… it couldn't hurt right?

Snapping on the earrings, he looked in the mirror to check how he looked. The gems in the earrings certainly went well with his shirt, but that was about it. He never really understood the purpose of jewelry.

Leaving the house, he began his walk toward the park. The park was roughly 20 blocks away, so it didn't take him long to get there. Marco stuffed his hands in his pants pockets and ran his thumb over the edge of the card. Was he really doing this? Could he do this? It wasn't demanded of him, really, and sure Tom was expecting him, but this was humiliating. He turned around, fully prepared to turn back home, tell Star he couldn't do it, and throw the card away. But at the same time, this wasn't about him.

“No, be a man, Diaz. This is for Star.”, he reminded himself before he turned back around and continued his walk.

Once he arrived, he glanced down at his watch. Seeing that it was roughly 4:50, he pulled the card and the lighter out of his pocket and lit the card on fire, not giving himself an opportunity to back out.

As he watched the piece of paper twist and blacken on the ground below him, he felt a flash of heat on his back and the glow of hellfire made his shadow stand out.

No turning back now.

* * *

 

She looked… plain. That was the first thing that flashed across his mind when he saw Maria.

She turned around to face him, her back rigid and her hands in her pockets. He couldn't help but feel miffed that she hadn't put more effort into her appearance for their outing, but there wasn't much he could do about it now. Their reservation was set for 5:30 at a nearby human eating establishment, and he didn't want to seem rude. After all, she was friends with Star, and he had no doubt that everything that he said and did on this date would find its way to Star's ear.

Well, at least she didn't look like she was had crawled out of a garbage can.

“Ah Maria, lovely to see you again.”, he said before he stepped out of the elevator. As it sunk back into the ground, Tom stepped toward his date, taking Maria's hand into his own. “You're earrings match your shirt nicely.”

Maria's face contorted into one of discomfort before she pulled her hand away gently.

“Thank you, Tom. Your suit looks nice as well.”, she gave an awkward smile as she said this. “So what's on the agenda for this afternoon.”

Tom was mildly taken aback. She was rather forward, but then again what did he expect from a girl who overthrew one of the most notorious correctional facilities in the universe. He chose to smile.

“We will be having dinner at a local restaurant, as I assumed that you wouldn't be comfortable dining in my realm.”

“No, I think not.”

The two set off down the road toward the restaurant, both deciding that it would be best to make the trip in silence.

* * *

 

This date was going horribly.

Most of the time, Maria simply ignored him and focused on her meal, flicking one piece of broccoli to one side of her plate before flicking it back across. In all honesty, it was infuriating. No, he couldn't afford to get angry in a place like this. He was surrounded by humans, and the last thing he wanted was for his anger issues being present during their date.

So he sat and tried his best to eat. Human cuisine was tasted abysmally to him, but it would be rude to leave his plate untouched. Lord, nothing on his plate was even moving. What kind of restaurant was this?

Reaching for his glass of water, the one normal thing about human dining, he heard someone muttering to another person.

“Have you seen the couple at table 8? They both look miserable.”

“So? The only one I feel sorry for is the guy. I mean, honestly, someone should tell queenie over there how to dress.”

Tom saw red.

He stood up from his chair, throwing his bent fork to the side. Maria's head shot up, her hand dropping her own utensil.

“Tom, what are you doing?”

“Defending your honor.”

Without another word, he stormed off in the direction he had heard the conversation coming from, his shoes leaving scorch marks on the carpet. Maria jumped out of her seat to follow him.

“What happened? Tom, you need to listen to me and stop. You might hurt someone.”. She tried to stand in front of him, but he simply side stepped her.

He was by no means attached to the girl in anyway, but he's be further damned if he let some lower being insult _his_ _date_. And she looked wonderful, forgiving her clothing choice, thank you very much.

At this point, many of the patrons had noticed the strange looking teen, as well as his obvious fury and some had chosen to leave what they assumed to be the equivalent of their check before leaving in a hurry.

As Tom approached the pair of waitresses who had been gossiping, the two began to quiver in fear upon seeing the flame dancing in his hands and hair. Eyes glowing in fury, he slammed his hand down on the wall beside their heads.

“Who do you think you are to judge her in such a way?”, he said in a voice that rumbled and growled, sounding as if a thousand angry gods had joined together to judge the women before him.

“We didn't know anyone was listening, she didn't mean what she said.”, the taller girl insisted, moving her arm in front of the other to shield her.

“Yeah, it was just just a joke.”, the other girl insisted.

With a growl, Tom grabbed the shorter girl by the throat and lifted her high above his head.

“You should know to keep such thoughts to yourself, lest someone hear you.”. He tossed her into the salad bar, sending odd pieces of vegetable flying. He moved to attack her further when he felt someone grab his hand. He turned to snarl at who ever it was only to see the very girl he was defending looking at him with a stern expression.

“You've done enough, Tom. We need to go.”, she tugged on his hand. He huffed turning to look at the pair of girls, the taller one helping the other climb out of the mass of salad toppings. She looked dazed, and she limped once she was free. He followed his date, leaving the restaurant.

* * *

 

“What the hell was that?”

They were now several streets over from the restaurant. Tom was sitting on a wall while Marco stared up at him, his arms crossed over his chest in frustration.

“I told you, I was defending you.”, Tom said, his voice still emanating a deep rumble.

“You never even told me what she said, and besides, that reaction was completely unwarranted.”

“The shorter one said you looked like a man.”. Marco froze at this, his frown deepening. “See.”

“No, it doesn't matter what they said. Under United States law, anyone has the right to saw whatever they please without fear of repercussions unless that speech is made threatening or inciting violence.”

“In my realm, saying something like that to anyone related to the royal family in anyway would get you killed.”

“This isn't the Underworld, Tom. We are on Earth; therefore we are under the ruling of Earth's laws. And besides, I'm not a member of the royal family.”

“Being seen with me in such an environment would give you at least temporary honorary membership.”.

Tom hopped down from his perch, before he shoved his hands in his pockets.

“Why can't you appreciate me trying to defend you? You're my date. It would have been a disrespect to you if I simply ignored it.”

“Look, I appreciate you trying to defend me and all, but you can't just assault people like that. If anything, you need to talk it out. Attacking people solves nothing. And besides, I can look out for myself.”, Marco said his hands shifting to his waist as he spoke.

Tom said nothing, instead preferring to continue sulking. Marco sighed, his arms moving to hug himself. In one way, he supposed this was his fault. Maybe if had been trying to keep up small talk with him, he wouldn't have heard that woman. If he was being honest with himself, he seemed like a pretty decent guy except for his anger problems. He stood up for his date without being asked to or demanding anything in return.

Hesitantly, Marco moved toward him, placing his hand in Tom's back.

“Look, I'm sorry I ruined the date. I should have done more than just sat there and pick at my dinner.”, Tom's ears perked up at this, “Let's start over. Why don't we go get ice cream somewhere, huh? I think we both need it.”

“Ice cream?”, Marco smiled at Tom's response.

“I think you'll like it.”

Several minutes later, both Marco and Tom sat on a bench near the closest ice cream stand they could find. At the moment, Marco was happily lapping away at his cone while Tom stared at his like it was going to bite him. Marco had decided to play it safe and got him chocolate.

“It's cold.”, Tom muttered, his face scrunched up in concentration. He looked as if he was trying to puzzle out exactly what he was holding.

“Never eaten anything frozen before?”

“No, not really. Most items in our cuisine are usually served boiling or on fire.”

With that, Tom bit into the frozen treat before his eyes flew open in shock. A dark soup of chocolate and saliva came dribbling out of the sides of Tom's mouth.

“What are you doing? Swallow it!”, Marco urged, seeing the mess that was beginning to form on Tom's white shirt. Panicking, Marco jumped up to grab a fist full of napkins, then practically threw that at Tom in an attempt to sop up the mess.

Once he gulped down the surgery liquid, Tom used his free hand to help Marco clean up the mess accidentally made. As the two struggled to mop up the ice cream, their hands brushed against each other. While neither of them noticed this at first, sparks flew from their connected skin upon contact. Unfortunately however, they didn't fail to notice when the cream soaked napkins caught fire.

With a shriek, Marco threw the flaming papers to the ground then stomped on them in an attempt to put them out. Out of the corner of his eye, Marco saw the stand attendant and his current customers look at the pair of them like they had lost their minds. None of them noticed when the scoop of birthday cake plopped onto the ground.

Once the fire was out, Marco turned to look at Tom, a wild look in his eyes.

“What was that?”, he asked, his voice sounding exasperated.

“I don't know, this has never happened before.”

Marco almost put his hand in his hair, bit stopped when he remembered that it was still sticky from the ice cream. Then he chuckled to himself.

“So, what do you think?”

Tom's eyebrows arched in surprise, before he too chuckled as well.

“Well, I didn't exactly expect it to do that, but yeah, it was good.”, Tom said, moving to lick his scoop again to emphasize his point. “I just have to remember to take it slower next time.”

“It normally doesn't melt that fast, but then again, your body temperature could be higher that a human's would be.”, he paused, before his brain fully registered the rest of Tom's words. “Next time?”

“Yeah. I mean, aside from the restaurant, I'm having fun. So, I was wondering if you would like to go out again sometime.”, he pulled out another card from his breast locket and held it out, “We can have ice cream again, I'll pay.”

Marco stared at the card for a moment before taking it.

“I'll have to think about it.”, Marco said looking down at the card, engulfed in thought.

“That's fine. No pressure. But, if you do… same time next Thursday?”

Marco nodded.

The two finished their ice cream before trading goodbyes, and heading back to their own homes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'd like to thank my beta, Omega Ultra, for helping me better this chapter.


	4. Chapter 4

Marco opened the front door of his home, shoulders slumped. What had he been thinking? He couldn't do that again. Why had he said that he would think about it?

He clenched his teeth and closed the door behind him before he raced up the stairs and into his room. Slamming the door behind him, Marco pressed his back against the wood and drew in a deep breath. He slid down to the floor and pulled his knees up to his chest, his arms wrapping around them. Lord, what was he going to do?

“Marco? Are you okay?”

His hands clenched around his upper arms when he heard her voice. Why was she here? Of all times, why did she have to be here now?

He heard her boots hit the floor, the telltale clunk of her walking over to him following afterward. He felt her lay her hand on his shoulder.

“What did Tom do? Whatever it is, I'll make sure that he gets what's coming to him.”, she said.

Marco brushed her hand off of her shoulder and stood, moving over to his chest of drawers. He unclipped his ponytail and earrings before he answered her.

“Star, please. I'm just having a difficult time right now. I need to be on my own right now, and I have some things to mull over. So if you could leave, that would be great.”

Star's face morphed into a frown, her arms crossing over his hips and her face flushing in irritation.

“I'm not going anywhere until you tell me what has gotten you in such a mood.”, she said. Marco snorted in response before he moved over to his bed and laid down on his side, his front facing the wall. The two sat in silence for several minutes, Star keeping true to her word and not moving an inch.

“Star, just go away.”

The girl's face flushed a deep red, her anger growing. She crossed her arms before she turned away indignantly.

“Oh. I see how it is. Whenever you get worried about me, you can do whatever you want to 'keep me safe', even when I don't need it. But whenever I want to look out for you, I only get to leave you alone to brood all day. Never mind that you're the one that actually needs protecting.”

Marco shot up from where he lay, his head swiveling to look at Star so fast he heard a resounding crack from the vertebra.

“I never said that. I said that I needed some time to myself, is that so much to ask? All I need is some time to think, Star. I don't need protecting. Why are you so obsessed with finding out what happened?”

“You always get like this whenever something bad has happened and you just got back from a date with my ex who has anger management issues. I'm your friend, Marco. I'm supposed to look out for you.”

“And yet you won't let me do the same for you. And you call me a hypocrite.”

“It takes one to know one, Marco.”

Marco swung his feet off the bed before he stomped over to her, his nose practically touching her's he was so close to her.

“You are only making this worse for me. If you care so much, just leave!”, he said, pointing his finger toward the door.

“I told you I'm not going anywhere until you tell me what's wrong!”

“You know what, fine. You want to know what the problem is? It's you, Star. If it wasn't for you, I wouldn't have gotten myself into the mess I'm in.”. Marco fisted his hair in his hands, pressing even closer to Star to emphasize his point. Once he finished speaking, he visibly deflated and moved back over to sit on his bed again. He put his face in his hands.

“Marco, what are you talking about? I didn't do anything!”

“Yes, you did. If it weren't for you, I wouldn't have had to go on that date in the first place. I wouldn't have had to wear a dress again, or that stupid ponytail. I wouldn't have gotten molested by David, and I wouldn't have had to go on a date with Tom.”

“I don't understand why you're upset. You went on one date with Tom, and one date with David. All I asked for was a few favors from my best friend. I guess I didn't realize that I would be such a chore after all of the times I saved your life.”

“You wouldn't have had to save my life if you didn't run off into unnecessary pits of danger all the time. Actually, that brings up another thing; You're always preoccupied with yourself. It's been like that from the beginning.”, as he said this, he rose from the bed and began to pace. “You never take the time to worry about others. At best, everyone else is an afterthought. Sometimes I wonder if you even appreciate what I do for you. I may not be as powerful as you are, but I do my best to help you whenever I can.”

“Of course I appreciate you, you are my best bestie! And I always worry about you. Some nights I can't go to sleep because I'm afraid that your heart will stop in the middle of the night and that I'll never be able to talk to you again. If I only cared about myself, would I care enough to ask how your date went?”

She huffed, her hands fisted down by her sides and he cheeks puffed out in fury. Marco stared at her, his eyes crinkled in on themselves. It was only until he noticed the tears forming at the edges of her eyes that he felt his anger come to a screeching halt.

“Are you crying?”

She wiped her eyes.

“No.”

“Oh man, Star. I didn't mean to make you cry.”. He started walking over to her, his arms held out cautiously. She sniffed before she turned away. “Star, I'm sorry. I was angry at myself, not you.”

She turned back to look at him square in the eye.

“I know you didn't, but even when you've been upset before you've never talked to me like that. It hurts to hear you say things like that. And I know I can get ahead of myself sometimes, you don't need to point it out, my mother does it enough. I don't need to hear it from you too.”. Star sat down on Marco's bed. “But just because I do that doesn't mean I don't care. You are one of the few people I would give my life for, Marco. If something happened to you, I don't know what I would do with myself. That's why I needed to know what was making you so upset.”

Marco sat down beside her., and carefully hugged her from the side. The two sat in silence for several moments, Star eventually circling her own arms around Marco's abdomen to return the hug.

“You still want to know why I was so upset?”, Marco said.

“Of course.”

“He invited me on a second date.”

Star shot up from her place, her hands moving to grab Marco's shoulders.

“He what now?”

“He asked me out again. It's scheduled for next Thursday.”

“Did you accept?”

“I told him I would think about it.”

Star began to shake him vigorously.

“What were you thinking? I thought you hated him?”

Marco shoved her hands off of his shoulders before responding.

“Yeah, but now that I've had a decent conversation with him, I want to get to know him better. Despite what happened at the restaurant, he's a pretty decent guy. If it weren't for his anger problems, I have a feeling that we could at least get along.”

Star stared at him for a moment, her jaw gaping open in shock.

“You have lost your mind.”, she said, shaking her head as she spoke. Marco stood to resume his earlier pacing.

It would be nice to start over with him again. You know, properly introduce myself instead of attacking him on sight. But now, I don't have the option of getting to know him like any other guy, or even like I met Ponyhead. At least with her, she likes me to some degree now. But with Tom, I'm now known as either the jerk who stole his date at the Blood Moon Ball, your weird friend who chopped his hand off, or the girl who isn't even a girl he took out one time.”

“Marco, look. I know he seems like a nice guy at first, but you have seen him when he gets… out of control. In more ways than one. Take it from the girl who dated him for an extended period of time. He isn't a good guy.”

Marco shook his head in response.

“He probably has issues just like everyone else, Star. There is always a logical reason behind negative behavior and emotions. It's never simply 'I'm A for reason B'. Anger is a sort of intermediate emotion that is normally used to hide another, after all.”

He reached into his pant's pocket and pulled out the new card.

“I need to talk to him again in a controlled environment. One where he won't attack me on sight. Star, I'm convinced that there is more to him than a continuously boiling pot of anger. I need to know more.”

Star stared at him for a moment before she threw up her hands in defeat.

“Fine. Go see him again. Even though you came home looking completely miserable from your date today, have a second date. But, I am telling you, Marco. This isn't going to end well.”

“Maybe it won't, but I can't just let this rest.”

Marco sat down on his bed before he slipped the card into his night table. He turned to look at Star again, only to see her grinning like a fiend. He quirked his eyebrow up in response.

“You know what this means now, right?”. Marco continued to stare at her in confusion. “It means that it's my turn to be over protective."

Marco's eyes grew wide in mock fear.

"Star, no."

"Star, yes! I'm gonna follow you to the park and crash your date!", she said. She opened her arms and tackled Marco to the bed.

"You wouldn't dare.", Marco felt a small grin creep across his face.

"I would too! I'm gonna stalk you guys and watch every move you make."

Without further warning, Star began to tickle her friend, relishing in his high-pitched giggles.

* * *

 

Stepping out of a pillar of fire, Tom dusted himself off before walking over to his armoire. After swinging open both doors, he pulled off his suit coat and hung it up inside. He stepped away and moved over to his rabbit hutch, pulling Marshmallow from his home. Then, he stepped over to his bed, laying down gently so that he wouldn't harm his small passenger.

Tom began to run his hand over the rabbit's fur, drawing comfort from the small creature. He had no clue why he was so on edge after earlier. Going out for ice cream had been fun for him and from what he saw, Maria had had fun too. She said she would at least think about going out with him again dispute letting his temper get the best of him. So why did he feel like something was off?

Rolling to his side, he reached into the drawer of his night table and pulled out the picture he had of her.

Maria was a puzzle to him. He barely knew the girl and she was already making his head run in circles. She didn't fear his rage on the date and she handled him firmly when he got out of control. She even tried to save the date by suggesting they go elsewhere.

Then there was the alleyway where they first meet. She knew how to handle herself well. Even after being attacked like that, she could still string a sentence together. That was a feat on its own.

He stared at the image with a puzzled expression for a few more moments before he heard his door click open. Tom scrambled to hide the image behind him.

The soft clop of a pair of heels walking across the stone floor filled the room. The noise came to a stop at the end of his bed, which dipped under the weight of another person a moment later.

“Resting after your outing, dear?”, said his mother, her clawed hand joining his own over Marshmallow's back. The rabbit shook.

“Just for a moment, Mother.”, he said, opening his eyes as he did so.

His mother was a beautiful member of their species, he couldn't deny that. She had long, pale hair that reached half way down her back. Her face held high cheek bones, four glowing amber eyes that he had often seen enchant members of the court, and dark purple skin that held neither a scar nor a blemish.

But, her insides did not match her appearance. She was almost just as prone to rage as her mate, and unfortunately Tom was often the target of her anger. He of all people knew this fact well. Being the first and only son of a Duke of the Underworld was not as glamorous a life as it was made out to be.

“Who was it that you went to see today, hmm? Are you still chasing after that Butterfly girl? I thought that you were told to move on from her.”

“No, Mother. I was just visiting Brian, that's all.”, Tom said, trying to keep the waver out of his voice.

“Thomas, you know I don't approve of you lying to me.”, she said, a dangerous edge to her voice. She reached over his body and under his pillow, pulling out the picture of Maria. “Now who's this? Your newest obsession?”

“No, she is just someone Star is trying to set me up with.”

“And you're interested in her? I certainly hope not. She looks dreadfully plain. She probably doesn't even have any abilities to speak of.”, she said almost to herself, scrutinizing the girl in the picture like she believed that Maria had stolen something from her. Tom gulped.

“No, she's plain as you said.”

“Good.”

She laid the image back down on the bed, rising from her seat. She walked back over to the door, opening it before turning back to address her son.

“By the way, your Father wishes to see you. Earl Haures is here with his youngest daughter and he wishes to speak with you about a potential engagement agreement. I expect you to be in the main hall within twenty minutes.”

The door slammed closed behind her as she left.

Tom gulped down a deep breath, letting it out in a puff of smoke a minute later. How dare she say such things about Maria? Sure, she was rather plain, but she was more of a fighter than his mother would ever be. He barely noticed when he began to put his rabbit to the point to where Marshmallow's fur began to poof up.

What was he doing? Why was he so angry on behalf of a girl he barely knew?

Tom sat up and placed the picture of Maria back into his nightstand. After placing the rabbit back in his hutch, Tom grabbed his suit jacket and pulled it back on.

Leaving his room, Tom stuffed his hands into his pockets. As he made his way down the hallway, he couldn't help but think that despite his mother's disapproval of Maria, at least he had the choice of being with her. With Maria, even if whatever they were doing didn't work out, she wasn't with him just for his political power.

With her, he didn't have to worry about being forced to be with her against his will.


End file.
